True to her word, Seungwan texted her right when she got off work at 4:30. The apartment building where Seungwan lived was only about ten minutes from Joohyun's own, so she didn't have to worry about catching an Uber. One less thing to worry about for her first proper date in a little over a year. Sure, Joohyun had been out with a couple of women here and there, that was the nature of New York City, but none of them ever lasted more than just a half-assed couple drinks. 

To admit the truth, Joohyun still wasn't sure if Seungwan had truly even meant what she said. She had said date, even winked for good measure, but what if she meant a study date? The adult version of a study date? What if Joohyun got there, and Seungwan truly just saw it as a work thing? She could worry about the technicalities later. For now, her main concern was to find an outfit that was comfortable, but still formal enough to impress Seungwan. Joohyun didn't wanna toot her own horn, but when it came to outfits, she thought she was pretty well prepared. 

Wrong.

So very wrong.

Over an hour and a half spent digging through her normally very organized closet, had so far produced a pile of clothes as tall as Joohyun herself, and a solid amount of sweat and back pain. She was supposed to be at Seungwans at 7:00 to begin working, and she still had yet to figure out a study date outfit. Joohyun knew she was digging herself an early grave by doing what she was about to do, but at this point, she had no other option. She grabbed her phone, scrolled through her contacts, and hit the call button praying for the person to pick up.

One ring...

Two rings...

Thre-

"To what do I owe the honor of THE Bae Joohyun calling me after our work hours?" Sooyoung's loud voice cut through the line.

"Sooyoung, I need your help with-" Joohyun contemplated lying but knowing Sooyoung, she'd find out anyway "- an outfit for a study date." The line went silent for a few minutes, and Joohyun could almost hear the gears turning in the tall secretary's head. 

"A study date," Sooyoung slowly said. "With?"

"That doesn't need to concern you, it's with a friend of mine."

"It's Seungwan isn't it," Sooyoung deadpanned. 

"No, it's a colleague."

"Seungwan."

"Colleague."

"Seun-"

"Fine! Yes, it's Seungwan," Joohyun exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Are you happy now?" She could visualize the -eating grin that Sooyoung had sprawled across her face even if it was just an audio call. 

Spawn of Satan - 1 Joohyun - 0

"More than happy. Now about this outfit disaster?"

If there was one thing that Park Sooyoung was good for, it was putting together a cute outfit. Within twenty minutes, she had Joohyun wearing a simple pair of light wash jeans that "showed off her assets" and an elegant black long sleeve turtleneck. To perfect the outfit, Sooyoung ordered her to wear her black ankle boots and her light brown overcoat. Standing in front of the mirror, Joohyun had to admit she looked hot. Professional, but hot. Thanking Sooyoung for her help (and quickly hanging up before she could start teasing her about her date), Joohyun hurried to touch up her makeup and grabbed the case files Seungwan asked her to bring. 

The sun had just begun to set as Joohyun stepped outside of her apartment building and into the cool air. The beginning of October was an interesting time of year. The remnants of warm summer days were slowly being pushed out by the crisp fall evenings and the glow that bounced off of tall glass buildings cast a golden shadow across the busy streets. As she walked, Joohyun let her thoughts drift to Seungwan. As if they weren't there already. 

She had known the blonde lawyer for exactly a week now and she didn't know what to think of their dynamic. Where Seungwan was warm, Joohyun tended to be cold. Where Seungwan was soft and fluffy, Joohyun was firm and rigid. Seungwan was the human embodiment of sunshine, and Joohyun couldn't deny being strangely drawn to her warmth. In only seven days, Joohyun was completely thrown out of her normal schedule and she didn't know how to feel. There was also the small detail of Seungwan being one of the smartest and best lawyers she's ever had the pleasure of knowing. Whenever Seungwan talked, she emitted this aura of confidence and Joohyun found that extremely attractive. New feelings were brewing, sitting at the deeper part of her chest, she just couldn't pinpoint them yet. 

Seungwan's building came into sight as she rounded the last corner of the short walk. As she got closer, she could see a familiar-looking head of blonde hair waiting in front of the glass doors. Joohyun was still a couple of meters away, so she let her eyes soak in the casual version of Seungwan. Plain jeans with a white bomber jacket have never looked so good. The second that Seungwan noticed her approaching, her face broke into one of her signature smiles that warmed Joohyun from the inside. 

"Hey Hyun," Seungwan said as she went to envelop Joohyun in a hug. "Did you walk? I was expecting an Uber to pull up in front."

Returning the tight hug, Joohyun answered, "I don't live far. Figured it would be a nice walk to get out stress from work."

"Well, let's try and lighten our workloads tonight," Seungwan said, pulling away with a smile. "We should head inside, I left the food cooking and I'm not looking to burn down a brand new apartment." Joohyun followed her through the rotating glass doors and into the elevator on the opposite side of the lobby. 

"How long have you lived in this building?" Joohyun asked as the elevator doors shut. 

"Not long, only about a month. I used to live closer to Brooklyn, where the Hwang firm is located. I figured I didn't wanna travel an hour to work every day, so I found this place. It's a little pricey, but just wait until you see the view." Seungwan said beaming at Joohyun. "Overlooking the river is worth every single dollar." 

The elevator came to a stop on the 23rd floor and as the doors opened, Seungwan slipped her hand into Joohyuns and guided her down the hall. Thank god Seungwan was looking straight ahead and not back at Joohyun whose face had turned bright pink at the sudden hand-holding. They slowed down in front of one of the doors that lined the hall and Seungwan let go of her hand to fish out her keys. 

"Why are you pouting?" Unknowingly, the second Seungwan let go of her hand, Joohyun had started frowning.

"Oh, I'm just stretching my lips," Joohyun said, offering a crooked smile. Seungwan gave her a questioning look but said nothing. Instead, she interlaced their hands again and pushed open the door to her apartment.

The second the door shut behind them, Seungwan let go of her hand once again, kicking off her shoes, and setting off towards, what Joohyun guessed, was the direction of the kitchen. "Let me check on the food, look around if you want," she heard from down the hall that her colleague just disappeared down. Joohyun took off her shoes, placed them neatly next to Seungwans, and slowly ambled further into the flat. 

She found herself in the living room. A large white couch sat against one of the creme colored walls with a poster of a city Joohyun couldn't identify sitting above it. On the opposite wall, a TV was mounted to the wall and a glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room. Just like Seungwan's office, her apartment had a modern feel to it. The carpet felt soft under her feet as Joohyun walked towards the large windows that made up at least 90 percent of the far wall. When she finally got close enough to see around, her jaw dropped. Seungwan wasn't kidding when she said the view was worth it. 

As Joohyun gazed out of the windows at the hundreds of tiny dots moving about below, the sun slipped past the buildings on the horizon creating a beautiful ombre of colors across the sky. The river that the apartment overlooked, reflected the hues of orange pink and purple adding to the peaceful vibe that the city had at this moment. Sunsets were gorgeous, but something about the overall feeling of the apartment and the location made this one so much prettier. Or maybe it was the fact that this was all Seungwans.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Seungwan said, stepping up next to her.

Joohyun hadn't heard Seungwan enter the room, too entranced by the spectacles of color morphing right before her eyes. "Is this what you get to see every evening?"

"Not all the time. When it rains, the scenery can be a bit solemn. Other times, the heat from the city makes the visibility so the sky looks blurry. Sunsets like today are pretty rare in my opinion. The colors are all melting together perfectly," Seungwan said, glancing at Joohyun. "Maybe you're a good luck charm for sunsets cause the sky wants to be as pretty as you Hyun."

Joohyun was pretty sure God was looking out for her at that moment because the red hue from the sun covered up the fact that she was blushing at Seungwan's words. She turned her head only to find the shorter woman already looking at her. When they made eye-contact, Seungwan offered her a gentle smile.

"Do you wanna get started? The food is ready."

-----

Joohyun, it turns out, wasn't the only one who called for help when preparing for the get-together. Upon entering the kitchen, Joohyun almost started drooling. In front of her lay a steaming pot of tteokbokki with a handful of side dishes. 

"Is that... tteokbokki..." 

'I didn't exactly know what to make, so I texted Seulgi and asked her what you liked."

Joohyun swore she could see the tips of Seungwan's ears turning red, but before she could prod further, Seungwan saved herself. "Why don't we both grab something, and bring it to the living room? We can work as we eat, the coffee table is big enough to fit all of this," Seungwan said, already grabbing a bunch of plates. Joohyun followed suit, and soon both women were comfortably sitting on the floor with their backs against the couch.

Seungwan's food tasted like heaven. Perfectly spicy and warm. Joohyun had tried many tteokbokki in her life, but Seungwans? At least in the top 5. No bias whatsoever. 

"How did the meeting go?" Joohyun asked between chews. "From what I know, the family are super private with almost everything regarding the victim."

"Well, from what we know already, the victim was twenty-eight-year-old Jennifer Davidson and there was-" Seungwan held up her hands in air quotes "-'no chance' of her having bad blood with anyone. The parents are practically no help to us, which is why I got in contact with her siblings. Her brother, the guy that I met up with, told me some stuff that didn't sit well with the whole 'no bad blood' thing." Seungwan pulled out a recorder from her work bag and put it on the table. "Tell me this doesn't seem at least a little sketchy," she said pressing play.

Seungwan's voice crackled through the mini speakers.

"Mr. Davidson, is there anything that could help my partner and I prosecute the accused? Any possible ties that you know of between your sister, and the accused?" 

A small pause, and then a low voice began speaking.

"Jack was a friend of my dad's ever since Jen and I were younger. He was like an uncle to us, always bringing us toys and stuff. He offered Jen her first job at the marketing company that he owns. Jen and he went out to drink a couple of times, but she always said it was for business and catching up with him. She never mentioned anything else about him."

"They went out together?"

"Yeah, Jack and Jen were friends. She was like the daughter he always wanted. I still don't think he did it, he loved her too much to hurt her."

Seungwan clicked the pause button on the recorder and silence hung in the air. Both lawyers thinking about what was just played. 

Joohyun broke the silence, "There's already so much evidence against this guy, why doesn't he just fess up?" 

"A statement like this isn't good enough to act as evidence Hyun, you know that." It's true. A witness statement was amazing evidence in a trial, but a random story? It wouldn't help at all. They already had a bunch of text messages between the victim and the accused, they just needed the last piece to be 100 percent sure that he would be convicted.

"Wan? You think you could ask the brother if he knows where they went together?"  Seungwan tilted her head, silently asking Joohyun to elaborate on her question. "Wan, think about it. If we can find out where they went, we can find the camera footage and maybe even some possible witnesses to their meetups." 

"Holy ," Seungwan breathed out, sitting up. "Hyun, that's brilliant! If we can find out anything about their conversations or habits, we can use it against Jack in the trial! I'll call the brother first thing tomorrow."Joohyun watched as Seungwan excitedly typed the new ideas into the case documents. She looked pretty, really pretty. The slightly red tint from the food made her lips pop-out and with her hair tied back, Joohyun had a clear view of a nice jawline. 

Seungwan has a nice side profile. 

"Joohyun?"

"Yes, Wan?"

"You have a nice side profile too."

Oh. 

Oh my god. If the earth could open up and swallow her right this instant, Joohyun would welcome it with open arms.

Seungwan must have seen the panicked expression on her face because she quickly changed the subject. "You know, if you use this different setting on the document, you can transcribe a lot easier," Seungwan said, leaning closer to Joohyuns laptop. The proximity after what was just said was not helping Joohyun's state of being at all. She could feel her partner's warm breath on her neck as their bodies pressed closer together.

"Now you can just hit the tab button and it will switch names," Seungwan whispered.

Slowly turning her head to face the blonde, she came face to face with a slightly blushing Seungwan. Their faces were just a couple inches apart, and Joohyun could feel Seungwan's labored breathing on her lips. She saw Seungwan shift her eyes down to her lips and back up, the action causing her to subconsciously them. Any thoughts that were in her head before, Joohyun knew nothing of them. It was as if everything froze in place for a second before both of them started to lean in slowly, as if under each other's spells.

As their lips brushed against one another, a loud ringtone blared from somewhere on the table. Joohyun jumped back, causing Seungwan to pull away and duck down behind her laptop. Grabbing her phone, Joohyun checked who was bothering her during such an important moment. 

Sooyoung: Hope she likes the outfit. Be safe have fun ;)

Oh if only she knew what she just did. Park Sooyoung was not only a demon child, she was now an honorary . 

Not a word was said between the two flushed women as they buried themselves into their work. 

-------

Two hours of silently avoiding each other's eyes later, the clock was ticking closer to ten and Joohyun decided that they had worked enough. She shut her laptop and wordlessly started putting away her things. 

"Heading out?" Seungwan asked, checking the time on her watch. 

"It's getting late, and we have a busy day tomorrow Wan. The trial is getting closer and we still need the driving piece of evidence to be complete. Besides, we need the beauty sleep." She said nudging Seungwan with her shoulder

Getting up, she helped Seungwan clean up the food and papers that were strewn across the living room, and picked up her coat from the armrest of the couch. Seungwan walked her to the front door of the apartment. Silently staying at least three feet away from Joohyun at all times. 

"Thank you for coming Hyun, we got a lot done," Seungwan said as she opened her door. "I wouldn't have been able to figure anything out without you."

"Thank you for having me, Wan. I had a lot of fun." She answered, giving a little wave. 

As Joohyun went to leave, something must have possessed her. It was the only thing that could explain why she did what she did. 

In one swift motion, she pulled at Seungwan's wrists and pulled the woman flush against her, giving Seungwan a lingering kiss on the cheek. Gay panic Joohyun who? She felt the blonde stiffen underneath her grip, and as she pulled away slightly from the mochi cheeks, Seungwan's mouth went slack and her eyes widened. 

"Goodnight Wannie, can't wait for the next date" she whispered in the shorter woman's ear as she pulled away completely and turned out of the apartment. 

She rode the elevator down silently, a proud smirk playing on her lips as she thought of how stunned she left Seungwan.

Mochi truly is Joohyun's favorite dessert, after all.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So close, yet so far...

Hey guys! Another chapter in the books, the longest one yet. 

To all the people calling out that Joohyun is a panicked gay, don't doubt her just yet ;). 

Thank you so much for reading, every comment, view, upvote are appreciated :)

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or suggestions or anything!! I promise I'm nice.

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Stay safe and healthy,

-Beardoodlez ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ